By Chris Martin
As they hurry to set up their stalls on a frosty November morning, breathy clouds billow from the mouths of market vendors while they exchange coffee and hand warmers, and gab about the items they’ve brought to the market to sell. Excitement typically revolves around what’s new from the gardens and kitchens, but this late in the season, farmers and makers are sustaining the year’s harvest through methods of pickling, drying, and preserves.
UVA alum Matt Bressan’s Fresh Crunch Food is a family-owned business out of Falls Church. One of eight siblings, Bressan began catering in 2008, developed some pickle recipes, and, in 2013, joined forces with his brother Luke, who is now the pickle chef.
The pair experimented with selling at farmers’ markets as an additional revenue stream. “Right before COVID we were doing lots of catering,” says Bressan. “All that got canceled and the only way to get a true income was to find more markets.” Starting with three markets in 2020, the brothers ramped up to 12 in 2021, with pickle production shifting from 20 percent to 80 percent of the business.
A third brother, Colin, is the face of the Fresh Crunch Food stand at the Charlottesville City Market. FCF offers 30 varieties of pickles, and most of the vegetables it pickles are sourced through farms in Virginia, largely Garner’s Produce in Warsaw. Have a pickle lover in your heart for the holidays? Sign them up for the monthly pickle club with home delivery (freshcrunchfood.com).
Herb Angel owner Angel Shockley started making shrubs in 2013 as a natural extension of her love for herbs, gardening, and cooking. The concentrated syrups of herbs, fruits, sugars, and vinegars can be found on many a bartender’s shelf, and they mix easily into still or sparkling water. After a nine-month herbalism course in 2012 at Sacred Plant Traditions in Charlottesville, Shockley says Herb Angel allows her to experiment in this new way.
For the holidays, Shockley is offering natural and herbal creations, including an assortment of shrubs and naturally dyed silk scarves, plus Eat Your Medicine gift boxes and a skin care collection that incorporates herbal wisdom and passion for locality that will nourish from the inside out (herb-angel.com).
Yvonne Cunningham started Nona’s Italian Cucina as an adventure in independence from traditional employment structures in 2018. Cunningham learned Italian cooking when her family moved to Italy while her husband was in the Navy. “We didn’t speak any Italian,” she says. But they “chose to live off base—we figured if we’re living in Italy, live amongst the Italians.” Her next-door neighbor, a bonafide Italian Nona, took her shopping for the freshest produce. “Nona taught me that the best tomato sauce comes from San Marzano tomatoes that are grown in volcanic and mineral-rich soil in Naples,” says Cunningham. She learned to make traditional tomato sauce, and has been making it for about 30 years, tapping into local farms for herbs and other ingredients. Cunningham’s holiday boxes come with tomato sauce, local Valente pasta, hand-embroidered Williams Sonoma kitchen towels, market totes, and other Nona’s Italian Cucina goodies. Find Nona’s Italian Cucina on alternating weekends at the City Market or IX Art Park farmers’ market, or order online (nonascucina.com).
Wife-and-husband duo Rachel and Daniel Perry run two local microbusinesses: JAM according to Daniel and Fairweather Farm, a tea and spice producer. Longtime City Market vendors, the pair used their knowledge of local produce and herb cultivation to expand in 2020 by adding a mail-order business model.
“Rachel has herbs and spices that are grabbed out of the peak of the season, dried, and mixed by her,” says Daniel. He offers small-production releases of seasonal preserves and occasional rare jams with fruit sourced from local farms within a 60-mile radius of his Charlottesville kitchen.
Each gift box has a combination of tea and jam in sustainable packaging, the perfect pairing to bring Virginia home for the holidays. Order online for pickup, delivery, and shipping (accordingtodaniel.com).
Buy local
Charlottesville City Market
100 E. Water St.
Saturdays through December 18
Key’s Corner Indoor Market
800 E. Market St.
Saturdays, January-March
Local Food Hub Drive-Through Market
Seminole Square
Fridays
IX Art Park Farmers’ Market
522 Second St., S.E.
Saturdays
